Flat panel televisions have been a top seller in electronics, and it's no wonder -- they use a fraction of the space of traditional tvs and offer higher quality too. A very common installation is hanging it on the wall. It's easy to do as long as you do some prep work. Let's dive into what you need to organize and think about before you kick back in the couch and watch your football game in HD.

First, you need to decide where you want to place the television in your room. Since it takes up less space, you don't necessarily need to put it where the old tv used to be. A couple things to consider -- is there accessible power or is the cable or antenna connection nearby? If not plan to run the electric and other wires to your new location. If you want a home theater setup, you'll want to make sure you have adequate speaker placement with the location of the tv as well.

Once you determine where you want to place the tv, you'll want to purchase the tv wall mount. Typically you'll get either a fixed wall mount or an articulating wall mount. If your viewing angle is generally straight in front of the television then a flat mount will work. Otherwise, you'll want to pick up an articulating one so that you can swivel the tv from side to side to get the best viewing angle. Make sure you get one that properly sized for your tv or, better yet, has a compatibility chart that shows it works with your LCD television. This is easier done at home on the Internet than at your electronics store.

Once you have the mount in hand, take a look at it and see how it will mount on the wall. If you want to run electric and other cabling in the walls, you'll want to figure out where the boxes should be installed so that they don't interfere with the mount. Also make sure you know where on the tv that the power and other cables plug in so that the electric and cable boxes don't interfere with that too. Ideally, you'll want to have some separation of the power and other cabling so that the audio and video signal doesn't get affected by the noise generated by the electric wire -- the further apart you can place it, the better off you'll be.

If you're installing boxes to hide the cabling, do it now. Make sure they are placed so that you'll still be able to screw the wall mount into the studs. The televisions are thinner than the old CRTs, but they are still heavy and definitely need to be installed carefully!

Now, dry fit the mount and align it on the wall, using your level to make sure it's even. Take a pencil and make the marks on the wall where you'll put in the screws. Now you can concentrate on just putting in the screws where you made you marks and leave the level on the ground -- nothings more annoying and frustrating than trying to handle too many tools at once! Then fasten the other mount part to the back of the tv.

You're almost done! For this part, grab a friend and have them help lift the tv and align the rear mount to the fixed wall mount. Even if you can lift the tv by yourself, it's definitely worth having another set of hands for this part. It's hard to see where things are if you're busy holding the tv. Once you've go the mount connected, you'll need to tighten the connector bolts that ensures that someone can't accidentally bump the tv and knock the whole thing off the wall mount and onto the floor.

Now just plug it in, and run any home theater cabling you'll want and you're set for some excellent HD viewing pleasure. Just don't forget the popcorn.

About Me

My day job doesn't include woodworking and hand tools, but in my spare time I enjoy woodworking. Like most woodworkers, I am still acquiring all the tools I think I need. And I'm still designing and contemplating the needs for my "perfect" workbench. I am located in New England.